Performance & Risk Assessment Community of Practice (P&RA CoP)

Performance assessments (PAs) and risk assessments (RAs) evaluate the impact of a proposed remedial action on human health and the environment, and provide a demonstration of compliance and important technical inputs to meet regulatory requirements for: 1) waste form development and implementation; 2) tank closure activities; 3) waste site closure activities (e.g., cribs and trenches); 4) in-situ decontamination and decommissioning; 5) soil and groundwater remediation; and 6) management of disposal facilities (e.g., land-fills or near surface disposal facilities). The PAs and RAs or P&RAs become public documents upon completion. As such, the Department of Energy (DOE) needs to ensure that P&RAs continue to be performed and documented consistently and to high standards.

DOE EM sponsored the Performance Assessment Community of Practice in 2009, to:

a) provide means to address consistency early and throughout PA process;b) foster early and sustained communication among CERCLA, NEPA, RCRA, and DOE O 435.1 activities involving LLW, tank closure, and D&D;c) provide a forum to share information regarding state of the art and specific models, data and approaches; andd) serve as an enduring data and modeling resource to minimize duplication of effort across DOE and train future generation of PA professionals

In late 2013, the group was broadened as P&RA CoP to emphasize:

a) the need for an integrated regulatory framework when cleanup work at a given site is subject to overlapping environmental regulations (CERCLA, RCRA, NEPA, and DOE Order 435.1); andb) the importance of risk assessments in non-DOE self-regulated cleanup activities

The goal of the Performance & Risk Assessment Community of Practice (P&RA CoP) is to foster exchange of information regarding preparation of performance assessments and risk analyses in support of environmental decisions across agencies and practitioners; enhance consistency in the preparation of P&RAs across the DOE; and to develop appropriate peer guidance and/or recommendations for P&RAs such that they are based on sound science and are defensible (see the P&RA CoP Charter of December, 2013).

An interagency steering committee was expanded in August 2013 to guide the activities for the P&RA CoP.

Disclaimer: Display of the presentations and discussion material of the P&RA CoP Webinars and Technical Exchanges on this Website should not be construed to imply or in any manner state that the Department sanctions or endorses the entity that the P&RA CoP presenter is affiliated with; further, the views expressed in the presentation or discussion are those of individual P&RA CoP members only, and not necessarily the views of the Department.